Apologies in advance to those of you who just don't feel like a sappy moment, but most of my blogs are fresh off the cuff each day, reflecting whatever has happened in the day or week before in our industry. This morning, while it was an incredible week, my mind keeps going to a couple of new photographers I spoke to last week who seemed to spend more time apologizing for their dreams than working to make them reality.So, I went off in search of something motivational and found this little piece by Karen Ravn...

Only as high as I reach can I grow,only as far as I seek can I go,only as deep as I look can I see,only as much as I dream can I be.

I'm not a big fan of rhymes, but it does make it easy to remember...so here's my spin on it as it applies to building a business...

Set the goals for your business and skill set as high as you can. Nobody ever built a successful business on mediocrity.

Reach out into the market and recognize that as you build a stronger skill set, you can go anywhere...literally.

Nobody gets to stand in the way of your dreams, but so often we get in our own way, questioning and wondering if we've made the right choice. Dreaming is as much a part of your skill set as understanding exposure and composition.

Hey, I warned you this morning...this past week several projects came together that were CNC's (Cocktail Napkin Concepts)....it's an amazing feeling. Or as Hannibal Smith used to say on the A-Team... "I love it when a plan comes together!"Wishing everybody a wonderful weekend! Let yourself dream, raise the bar on your business, then raise the roof to celebrate. You're part of an amazing industry!Illustration Credit: faithie @ Shutterstock

"Why?"

Check out"Why?" one of the most popular features on the SCU Blog.It's a very simple concept - one image, one artist and one short sound bite. Each artist shares what makes the image one of their most favorite. We're coming up on 100 artists featured since the project started. Click on the link above and you can scroll through all of the episodes to date.

Authors

Skip Cohen is President of SCU, founder of Marketing Essentials International and past president of Rangefinder Publishing and WPPI. He's been an active participant in the photographic industry since joining Hasselblad USA in 1987 as president. He has co-authored six books on photography and actively supports dozens of projects each year involving photographic education.

Scott Bourne

Scott Bourne was the first Dean of Marketing at SCU. He helped to establish this blog as a resource for aspiring and working professional photographers. He's an educator, artist, author and from time to time you'll see his name on guest posts that are always relevant to photography and marketing!